The Tibetan word Bardo means literally "intermediate state" - also translated as "transitional state" or "in-between state" or "liminal state".
Surfing is a surface water sport in which a person (the surfer) rides a board (the surfboard) on the crest of a wave as it carries the surfer towards the shore.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

The swell fades but surfers remain

The beep of my wristwatch wakes me and then the sound of a bulldozer tearing up earth chases me out of the futon. The morning consists of reading "Illegal Alien" by Rober J Sawyer, tai chi and then the ocassional parking guidance to the latest arrival. At noon time I walk around all the various sleeping spaces, making sure the various supplies are topped up and that everything is in order.

One o'clock arrives: time to surf. Skip's Toyota takes me to the Point. There's a long board contest today and the first parking lot is closed off to the general public. I cruise down to the next lot which is much larger and has a 2 dollar fee. When I get to the window, my wallet hides, unable to locate it, the woman says: "Don't worry about it, just go in and find your wallet."

"Thanks alot."

I figure I left it at the gas station back in Oak View where I just put 25 dollars in the tank. Ahh, there it is - it slipped down the side of the passenger seat. Now it is time for business.

While slipping on the wet suit, a nice guy by the name of John, strikes up a conversation. I listen as he talks about the swell directions and what breaks they are good for. He loves Surfer's Point because it can get waves from so many different directions. He says that it doesn't have the best waves but that it is the most consistent.

The paddle out is easy. There's 10 to 20 minutes between sets. There are several line ups and the waves are sectioning. The water is cold but not cold enough for booties. There's a very light wind and the waves are glassy. Blue sky hangs over head while the sun warms my back. I cannot help but marvel at the magnificent conditions. The swell has been diminishing all day but the ocean's edge remains littered with surfers. 10 days of swell hype left us all with visions of barrels and double overheads dancing in our heads. No one seems fazed at all. There's still a lot of great rides to be had. My first wave is fun - chest high. I end up talking more with John out there. He's definitely one of the elders out here. I watch him as he paddles horizntally along the outside, spotting waves, catching them and more paddling. I can see his three decades of experience in how he sets himself up for each wave. He is also a gentleman out there, generous with waves that he could catch but lets another surfer have. Yeah, these waves are not as big as Thursday but still big enough for my modest needs. I catch several more but end they end up closing out on me. I paddle for and miss several waves. Most have crumbley peaks and break inconsistently but hey, they're glassy, right? Then I catch a few more chest highs and finally the time is almost 3:30 and I need to get out of the sea. The ocean presents me with a smooth roller just on the inside, I cut across and it links to another wave which takes me to the shallow shore. Carefully, I walk over the slippery mossy round river rocks that carpet the the edge and make for trecherous ocean exits.

Farmer and The Cook replenish my spent energy with their magic blend of goodness. Chad, another local blogger

is there, sitting at a table near the entrance with his ten speed bike at his side. He has an old school lap top but he still gets wifi. The antenna looks like the kind that sit on the roof of a car. He shares some of his HTML knowledge with me, receives a phone call and then has to go. The ride back to Ventura is around 17 miles and I guess he wants sunlight for the ride home.

Back on the estate. Turn off lights. Drink a glass of Chardonnay with Bill and John in the winery compound room formerly known as kitchen. Amazing liquid, refreshing and clean. John is very pleased. He's been working 80 hour weeks and has become Bill's latest golden boy. Then back to more light activations and then a random task presents itself: separating two beds that had been moved together and burying them in comforters and blankets.